KEW TUBERCULAR HOSPITAI

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 66, 19 March 1937, Page 7

KEW TUBERCULAR HOSPITAI

OBJECTION TO REOPENING BUILDING FOR QUEENSTOWN SUGGESTED I Per Treas Association. T INVERCARGILL, March 18. Strong objection to the reopening of the tuberculosis pavilion at tne Kew Hospital was made by Mr W. M. Norman, at the monthly meeting of the Southland Hospital Board to-day. To reopen the pavilion would be a terrible mistake, he said, and hewas determined to vote against such a move. "The time has arrived when we should build an institution of our own,” Mr Norman said. "It has been said that the Queenstown people would object to an institution being established there, but I have discussed the matter with prominent citizens of Queenstown and I am informed that there would be no objection to such a step being taken. Wealthy people who suffer from tuberculosis go to live in Queenstown and do well. Why should not poor people have the same advantages?” The chairman (Mr T. Golden) said that the Kew institution had been closed because there were not suffi cient patients going there to warrant it being kept open. He would admit that Kew was not, in his opinion, i suitable place to send tubercular patients, but Mr Norman was opening up a big question when he suggested sending them to Queenstown. Mr Norman: Whatever you say, It al comes down to this—send tne patients away to a better climate and they improve; send them to Kew and they go back in condition. The meeting went into committee to hear Dr. J. A. Pottinger's views on the subject. A decision reached during discussion in committee was not confirmed in open board, the chairman remarking, "there was no bustness done. We had a very interesting discussion.”